


Dressed To The Nines ✧ESCAPE THE NIGHT WRITING CHALLENGE!✰

by Goldendoodlegamer11



Category: Escape the Night (Web Series)
Genre: 1920s, 1970s, 30-Day Challenge, AU, Arguments, Character Appriciation, Circus, Clowns, Death, ETNuary, Gen, Proving yourself, Twist in the challenge, Ungodly Machine, Victorian era, challenge, learning to forgive, oneshots, partners, writing challenge
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-03
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:06:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21827182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goldendoodlegamer11/pseuds/Goldendoodlegamer11
Summary: Welcome to my official 30-day Escape the Night Character Appreciation storybook! The rules are simple: Write a one-shot about each and every guest that's been to Joey Graceffa's, erm, "parties", one character and one chapter a day for the whole month of January! Am I gonna die of stress? Absolutely. But will I lose stress in style while simultaneously giving shoutouts to the best of the best? You bet! We're going to be travelling from the jazzed up lifestyle of the Roaring Twenties to the Sands of Egypt in the 1940s in order to give every guest the spotlight they deserve!So start that countdown clock, because we've got some writing to do...and time is definitely ticking.
Relationships: The Disco Dancer | Colleen Ballinger & The Savant | Joey Graceffa, The Fixer | Andrea Brooks & The Gambler | Justine Ezarik, The Fixer | Andrea Brooks & The Hustler | Lele Pons, The Fixer | Andrea Brooks & The Journalist | Eva Gutowski, The Hippie | JC Caylen & The Detective | Matthew Patrick
Comments: 20
Kudos: 11





	1. Day 1 - I Don't Trust Him (Colleen)

**Author's Note:**

> Let's pray that I can actually stick to this *scared wheeze* OKAY LET'S DO THIS!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Colleen doesn't trust anybody in this town; Not Joey, not any of the other guests, and certainly not the monsters. Joey's gone, and Colleen needs to confront him before it's too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up first is Colleen, our lean mean fighting machine! Colleen is awesome, plain and simple. She's smart, plays the game right, and always adds something new and interesting to the story! I decided to set her story more in Everlock, since she was awesome there, and Everlock Colleen definitely needs more appreciation!

Colleen was incredibly excited for tonight. Being invited to a party right out of the 1970s, complete with lots of fireworks and beautiful swirling bright colours and a whole lot of other YouTubers seemed like a dream come true. A collab set in this carnival; maybe it would be a dark murder mystery? A comedy sketch? Their own better version of YouTube Rewind? Well, she was right on one of those things. Because it turns out she's been lied to. 

Colleen _hates_ being lied to.

The town is apparently really in the 1970s, it's not a collab but apparently a dangerous mission, and Joey Graceffa - her absolute best friend in the whole wide world, who was with her and supported her through everything - has been deceitful the whole time. He set up this whole death game for them to save some town for _some_ reason. And they have to collect these stupid artifacts, or they all may very well end up being killed in the process.

She can't believe that he'd do that to her. Invite her to this place knowing full well the harm it could do. Knowing that she may have to die. And for what? This town's never _done_ anything! Sure, it might've vanished in the 70s, but what does that matter to Joey? Why couldn't he just save it himself?

Now, she paces around the arcade angrily. She doesn't know where to even _begin_ with her anger. Rosanna and Manny sit on the couch, watching her pace. "Come sit down, honey," Manny tries. Colleen ignores him. Her brain is spinning faster than the Carousel they were all strapped to, which, need she remind everyone, was _also_ Joey’s fault.

"He’s needed to go to the bathroom four times now! What is he up to?” She demands to no one in particular.

She always knew Joey, and he always knew her.   
They talked about his stories, her Broadway performance, his dogs, her engagement...they knew every single thing about each-other. They dream and wish. Now she can’t even begin to imagine what he thinks he’s doing. She clasps her hands together, and wishes they could be back home, in the present, hanging out like usual. Her eyes become misty, and she has to focus on her breathing for a second, clasping her hands together harder. She has to talk to him.   
Maybe she can reason with him, convince him to take them all home. They’ve already had three deaths, and surely that’s enough. One is already enough.   
  


She suddenly feels a light touch on her shoulder, and spins around. There’s Ro, her eyebrows scrunched together in concern. “I’m sure he’ll be back soon,” she tries to console, smiling lightly.   
Beside her, Matt leans against the bookshelf, frowning to himself. He looks at Colleen. ‘Something’s up,’ he mouths. Colleen couldn’t agree more. She smiles quickly at Ro, then sighs.

"I’m going after him.” She begins making her way to the door.  
“Not you too,” Nikita mutters.

Colleen opens the arcade door into the summer night air. She can taste the broken traces of fire and pretzels on the top of her mouth, and she takes in a whiff. The Carnival around them lies scattered and broken, in pieces, completely decimated by the threats they’ve faced. She fans herself and decides to take off her dark sparkly jacket, putting it by the soda stand. She adjusts her sparkling silver necklaces, looks over her dark grey Disco Dancer outfit, and continues walking.  
She swears she can see the sky above her in slight traces of fern greens, browns, sunset oranges. Stars twinkle, and the cool air helps her to calm down. She loves Joey. She really does. The thought of him turning completely evil and bringing them all here to die just doesn’t sit well with her. It sounds off, wrong, and deliriously disturbing. She can talk to him.

Deep breath. In and out. She absently pats her stomach. Whatever happens here, she can’t let anything happen to him - it feels like a him - no matter what. She won’t let him get caught up in this story. 

-

She finds him across a bridge, near the church. He’s staring ahead, the green air and smoke from the man with no name still lingering.   
“Joey-" she starts, mustering up her courage. “I came up here to talk to you. You’ve been acting weird all night! And you’re scaring us - you’ve changed, and you’re keeping secrets, and you probably brought us here to die! So please tell me why we should keep trusting you.”

Joey stares ahead, almost in a trance, saying nothing. There is no indication that he heard her. She continues to ramble.

"And you invite us here to save this town or whatever, but you won’t even say WHY it’s so important in the first place!” She paces again, ranting angrily. “If you told us everything then we’d be able to help you, but you keep talking so cryptically and you’re not acting like yourself! And I’m worried about you! Please, just give us a reason why we should trust you.” She pauses. “Give _me_ a reason to trust you.”

Still nothing. She balls her hands into fists. So it's like that, is it?

“Joey! Are you even listening to me!?” She walks forward and grabs his shoulder. As if snapping out of something, he turns around. He opens his mouth a couple of times before meeting her eyes. A small thin string of magic filters out of the church, then all goes silent.   
"What are you doing here!?” He demands, as if justified in his anger. “It’s dangerous!”

Colleen very nearly implode. “Of COURSE IT’S DANGEROUS! You were the one who brought us here IN THE FIRST PLACE!!” She gestures wildly with her hands, hope draining out of her. “And you won’t even tell us WHY WE’RE HERE!”

"To save the town!” He says defensively, backing away from her. “I told you everything already!” Although there’s a sliver of guilt and doubt in his eyes. She looks him up and down, brain processing his words. She in turn backs away from him, and tilts her chin up.

”I don’t trust you.”

Joey gives a small laugh of disbelief. “You don’t trust me?” He repeats. Colleen nods. “Why should I?”

This causes Joey’s slight open-mouthed smile to vanish entirely. He looks like he’s about to say something, stepping forward to grab her, when they hear voices. It’s the rest of the group, and Colleen’s never been more grateful. The thought that she doesn't feel safe around her best friend anymore is almost overpowering. “There you are!” Matt says, looking at Joey in confusion. “We were waiting for you for a good while now! We don’t have that long until sunrise-“ while he chastises Joey, Colleen takes the opportunity to fall back into her circle of people she’s now considered friends. (well maybe not everyone - Manny and Nikita still won’t trust anyone else)

The others begin to demand answers from a mystified Savant. All his excuses go in one ear and out the other for Colleen, and for once she feels relief that she’s not the only one getting untrustworthy vibes from him. She meant what she said - she can’t trust him anymore. If he ever tries to give her another sick and sorry excuse, she’ll drop him quicker than anything.   
  


She doesn’t trust him, and frankly, she doesn’t think she ever will again. 

  
-

She was right. She’s died. Her son is gone. Her fiancé is gone.

Her best friend is gone.

-

It turns out they’re in a museum for the dead, their boxes shattered. She looks around at the other guests and Egyptian aesthetic of the place. The air is dry, with little inscriptions on everything. _Where are we?_ She can see Ro, in a different outfit. They lock eyes, sharing a confused expression. _If Ro’s here, where’s everyone else?_

Well, one things for sure; If she ever sees that coward ever again, she’ll make sure he knows that she won’t forgive him for his crimes. The lies, the deceit, the blatant betrayal, the act. It’s all just part of his game that she refuses to play. She refuses to let him fool her into being his friend.   
  


And then she does see him again. Right in front of her. This time with spectacles and dark swooping brown hair, flecked with gold. And what does he do? What does the man who lied to her face and killed her do? He runs up happily and tries to hug her. _It’s another game,_ her mind snaps, and she shoves him away.

“Are you kidding me?” She asks him genuinely. He releases his attempted hug, looking embarrassed and guilt-ridden. _Good. He deserves this_. He deserves to know what he’s done to all of us. He deserves to know that I’m never going to forgive him. Ever.

-  
“I’m here to save you!”

"I came here to rescue you all!”

"I felt so bad, so I wanted to make things right.”

_Its all a lie. It’s all a lie. It’s all-_

-

Joey locks eyes with her. The coins jingle in his bag, and then he walks over to her. Colleen's eyes widen. "Colleen, I want you to have these." And he places the coins in her bag. She looks down, unable to process what just happened. She feels the coins, and then looks back up at Joey. Behind the glasses, she can see genuine regret so strong it nearly knocks her off her feet. Ro smiles. Tim nods. DeStorm shuts his bag with a grumble. What he handed her was not coins; it was his ask for forgiveness. His ask to have their friendship back, the trust and bond they once had with each-other. A promise that she would not go into the challenge, that he didn't _want_ her in the challenge.

The past parties come rushing back towards her in alarm. She looks down at the small coins again. 

They jingle. And she smiles, eyes going misty again.  
 _Maybe he's a good guy after all._

-

It's been a little while.

Colleen walks inside from the kitchen, and sees her perfect boy looking up at her. Only a few months old, with soft skin and a dribbling mouth and eyes that show nothing but kindness.   
A sense of relief and ease washes over her, as she steps into the softly-lit nursery. She picks him up, and sits in the chair, and begins to rock him back and forth. Man does it feel good to sit down.

 _"I lost you once,”_ she mumbles in sing-song. _“But never again, I have something to come home to...you teach me how to trust and be kind...and to forgive others too.”_ He lets out a soft coo, and she smiles. She continues to hum, soothed by the room and just being here, at home, safe.  
  


And for the first time in a long time, she’s never been more grateful to Joey Graceffa in her whole life. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up, Andrea Brooks!


	2. Day 2 - Partners In Crime (Andrea B.)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andrea Brooks has been called useless and cast to the basement as part of the challenge. But a twist in the note leaves her struggling to prove herself, and not just save her own life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Say it with me now: ANDREA DESERVED BETTER. She was incredibly sweet, and I adored her outfit and role, and she should've gone so much further. I was between doing this and going with a Hogwarts AU, but I'll save the AU for something else I think, but she'll definitely be there!
> 
> I just wanted to have her be the hero, since she totally deserves it!

Andrea clings to Justine's arm, who pats her back comfortingly. Each step is another tick, creak, and clunk towards certain doom. She loves Justine as much as the next person, but she's suddenly regretting her choice in partner. She would have picked Tim; he's quick like a whip, head-strong, and the bond they share in unbreakable. But she didn't want her death to be on his conscience. If this death game really _is_ happening, and their ride really _did_ blow up, and four more of them _do_ have to die, she doesn't want Tim to become guilty.

Of course, she could have gone with _anyone else._

Someone who screams, "I'm an idiot! You don't want me!!" as soon as you smile and point at them are usually a sign of a bad partner. Just saying.   
  


The four girls eventually make it to the bottom of the basement. Arthur, the Butler, stands in front of two different glass tubes attached to stands in the floor. "Ladies. Welcome - to the _Ungodly Machine._ " 

"Why do you even have this down here?" Lele demands to know.  
He points to a box. "Please read the directions." The four of them reluctantly crouch around the note.

 _"To free the artifact from the bowels of the machine, it must be forced into malfunction,”_ Eva reads from a small notebook on a counter. Meanwhile, Andrea buries her head into Justine’s shoulder, listening.  
 _“The two guests must be locked in a separate glass chamber. The machine is started by placing the cog key in the center console. However, the other will fill with a noxious gas, killing the other guest whose partner was not quick enough."_ With every word Andrea feels her stomach sinking lower and lower.

_”And there is another twist. Whoever was voted into the challenge are the partners; those chosen as partners will be heading into the machine.”_

"What!?” All three other girls scream while Eva takes a moment to let her jaw drop.

 _“If after 30 minutes the machine has not malfunctioned, both guests will be killed by the machine, and a monster will emerge."_ Eva ends the haunting note, and turns to the group looking horrified. “So-so we’re-“ Lele breaks in, pointing to herself and Andrea. “Gonna have to try and save you two!?” She points at Eva and Justine.

"I guess so?”

Lele turns away, rapidly praying in Spanish.   
  


Andrea begins to shake. She can’t do this! _I’m a YouTuber! Not some daring-do lifesaving hero!_ She feels like the room is going to swallow her whole in its machinery and smoke. Tears sting at the corners of her eyes, and The Fixer has never felt more alone.  
But then Justine has her hand on Andrea’s shoulder, and she nods, and her expression shows nothing but trust, and Andrea swallows hard. _I at least have to try._

Eva and Justine are put into the different tubes; Eva nearer to the door, Justine furthest away. Lele and Andrea stand opposite each-other, and are greeted with a set of blueprints on their circuit board. Random cogs and screws, lines and circuitry stick out at her. She tries to match the directions on the blueprints to the switches laid out in front of her. Lele's gone with the approach of flicking every single lever without even looking at the directions. Eva is practically screaming instructions, going down and squatting to direct her partner. Andrea decides not to do that; what if she hits the wrong one and ends up killing her friend? Instead, she tilts her head, studying them carefully, sticking het tongue out at a certain angle.  
  
She finds the small piece of paper with different symbols, and looks alarmed. "Ohhh girl we're in some deep s-"

Suddenly, Lele's part of the board flips open. Eva cheers loudly, and Andrea's brain goes into overdrive as she flips the levers. Justine hisses through her teeth, sitting on the floor. She flicks a few more, and her circuit board abruptly flies open. Justine's energy returns, and she grins a dazzling smile, cheering. Andrea adjusts her headpiece, smiling cockily. "I knew that would happen," She jokes, preparing for the next task. There's a vat of ice water next to the machine, with a screw loose at the bottom.

Andrea daintily dips her finger in. It's freezing to the bone.

FUN.

Her and Lele take turns dipping her arms down the absolutely freezing ice-water to try and unscrew their respective bolts. "Aw that's cheating! You have gloves on!" Lele hollers from the other side of the room. Andrea desperately tries to ignore her. She feels the bolt, wiggling her fingers to turn it. She can't even _feel_ her fingers anymore - _pop!_ It comes right off, and both Fixer and Gambler cheer into the basement. 

Andrea runs to complete the third and final task, just as Lele's bolt comes undone, which results in more over-the-top cheering from Eva and Lele. _Are we at a football game?_ Andrea snarks internally. She bends down to see the different circuits. The first thing she notices is how the wires connect to four lightbulbs on the tops of their boxes ("a lightbulb?" she remembers asking to no one earlier, and almost smiles,) but there's an additional fifth one leading to a giant tank of water.   
_After 30 minutes....both guests will be killed by the machine, and a monster will emerge...is_ that _the monster maybe?_

She notices there are four different wires connecting to this tank. Each with their own symbol and shape. She looks frantically down at her own piece of parchment paper, and she sees that Lele's wires also connect to this tank. She gasps. She jolts as her partner pounds the glass. "What're you doing?? Go!"

The Fixer gets up, calling across the room. "Lele! I think I found a way they can both survive! There are these wires-"

"Hah! Nice try!"

"No! Listen to me! If we rewire all of these wires to fit into this one shape, we can direct it towards that tank!" She points out. Lele considers for a moment, then shrugs and frowns deeply in a _why not_ attitude, bending down to try it out.

Arthur looks unsettled but says nothing. 

The two look over the extra steps, which involves even more lever flipping to fit different dates and times, and by the end of it all her head is reeling. They quickly explain the situation to both girls in the Ungodly Machine, who seem 100% on board with this plan.

They have to match the symbols to the levers, back to the wires, and they're coming to the end of their 30 minutes. If they're wrong about this, if _she's_ wrong about this, everything will come crashing down, both Eva and Justine will die, and the two remaining girls will have to face a monster. What's more, Lele's for sure going to throw her under the bus for getting both their teammates killed, and it will be all over; there'll be a target on her back for sure.

But they still have five minutes to finish what they started, and the two girl's partners are cheering and screaming.   
"You guys can do it!"  
"Hurry hurry you guys got this!"

All at once the levers align, the lightbulbs light up, and a small turn-key pops up. Both girls lock eyes. "Ready?" Andrea asks, grabbing her key from the machine. Lele nods. "I'm ready, you ready?" Andrea nods, and the two turn their keys at the same time. Instantly, electricity screams and motors whir and their boxes shake with energy as the smoke from the tubes transfer to the tank of water.

And something in the tank screams.

-

“Guess who’s back!” Eva sing-songs happily, pulling Lele by the arm. The group immediately erupts into reactions; shock, disbelief, and even cheers. “I knew it! I knew it!” GloZell sings in triumph. Matt lowers his head in defeat, groaning in a self-loathing laugh, while Sierra takes a quick moment to high-five Eva. But it’s nothing compared to when Andrea and Justine _also_ come through the door.   
  


Everyone screams. Both Joey and Oli stand up, looking completely shocked.  
“OH NO WAY!”

_"WHAT!?”_

”YOU'RE BOTH BACK!?”

Tim immediately buries his best friend into a hug

Andrea buries her mouth in her sleek black glove in order to stop herself from smiling so hard. As they sit down, Justine immediately launches into story mode, telling the group what’s happened. “-and then Andrea figured out how to break the machine and-"

"So no one had to die?” Joey asks, obviously having zoned out for the past two minutes.   
“Andrea was so incredible!” Lele launches into the conversation. “She literally figured out what to do, it was amazing-“ The Fixer blushes as all eyes turn to her, sending her awed faces and even a few high-fives. She smiles. Then confidence comes swirling into her, deep into her heart and through her veins, and her dark rusty red lips turn up into a smirk.

"And you said I was useless!" She accuses, which results in a lot of "OHHHHH"s.

"How many Andreas does it take to rewire a light bulb?" Lele jokes. The group laughs. Andrea can't help it - she does, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I totally want to change that twist into its own story btw. Maybe soon! 
> 
> Next up, JC Caylen!


	3. Day 3 - Dramatic Irony (Jc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jc learns who voted for him, and decides to react accordingly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It broke my heart to see Jc go first. I remember watching him in Fight of The Living Dead (I binge-watched Season 2 with my friend in the dark which was probably the worst decision we collectively could have made) and it was awesome to see him survive and kick butt, so when he died FIRST, I was shocked!
> 
> So I wanted to write something to show my appreciation, since Jc's awesome!

"Yo. How messed up would it be if he was the one who voted for me?" Jc juts out a finger at good ol' MatPat, who's looking as white as a ghost right now. The Detective turns to the others in the lounge, laughing and good naturedly patting Jc's shoulder as if to say, _ah, this guy!_

_Ohh. Oh no._

The others wait in the colourful lounge, as Calliope gathers her things and is about to follow them out. Nikita looks over from the lime-green couches, smirking. Jc knows all too well of her intentions to put a wedge between the group, although he has no idea why she would want to do that. They're all in this together, aren't they? If they fail, they'll _all_ die. That's why he's taken up the part of Peacekeeper, the one to make sure the group is working like one well-oiled machine.

Him and Matt would be a great team; The Hippie and The Detective, side-by-side, solving crime and keeping the peace. But he has the sneaking suspicion that Matt doesn't exactly feel the same, considering the guy voted for him. Jc won't hold it against him; they weren't in the same group when they split up, so how could he have known if The Hippie was useful or not?

  
But although _he's_ okay with it, he's seen Matt. And Matt looks like a train-wreck.

He keeps checking his pockets, looking exclusively at Ro. He catches Jc's eye and immediately turns away, laughing nervously and cracking a quick joke.

Jc frowns and walks up to him. "Hey man, can I talk to you before we go?" Matt's shoulders stiffen, and he turns around slowly. He looks like a deer caught in the headlights. "Uh, yeah sure, you have my full attention." Jc gestures for Matt to follow.  
"Listen-"  
Calliope shakes her head. “No time. We must go now.” She walks away gravely. Jc swears that every time she speaks he can feel chills along his spine. It’s like she’s the embodiment of spooky Halloween. 

He looks at Matt helplessly, then follows them, Teala and Safiya. He looks at Teala, and they share a quick look. I’m scared, but good luck.

Hopefully they can both get out alive.

-

The town around them is sparked with a festive energy, both chaotic and zany. They approach the big apple-red and cream-white striped tent to a challenge laid out before them. Teala makes a small noise that’s either a gasp or a groan. There are two spinning wheels - the ones that people throw knives at while someone else is spinning dizzily and trying not to die - and a bunch of different tasks for Matt and Safiya to complete.

The head clown greets them and explains what they’ll be doing, and Jc tries to push down his fear as both him and Teala are grabbed by two much more insane-looking clowns.

Matt looks like he’s struggling with something.

”Anything you wanna say? Get off your chest?” The head clown sneers. Matt frowns, fists clenched. _It’s okay man,_ Jc encourages. _You got this. I won’t be mad. Just - please say it._ they lock eyes, and Jc tries one more time. _Please._

"I voted for you!" Matt blurts guilty. "I-I-I-I panicked and I-I didn't know if you were contributing to the group at all, and what if you end up dying because of me and it would be all my fault, and I didn't know that we literally had to vote each-other to die -" He rambles, stammering and looking completely overwhelmed by his own thoughts. He looks like a supercomputer that's about to explode.  
  


"Whoa, slow down man!" Jc struggles against the clowns dragging him away.   
  


He nods at Matt, and desperately wants to say that he knows. But instead he just tells the Detective, "It's okay." And allows himself to whatever fate he's going to have. The clowns tie him up, and he's left facing the entire challenge, with Matt and Safiya at their starting lines.   
Matt's confidence has seemed to return, and his eyes flash with a newly found energy and determination. He points confidently at Jc.

"Don't tie him too tight - he's coming with me."

All the edge melts away, and Jc smiles. _He’s got this._ "I really like that man, thank you."

-

Almost 15 minutes later, The Investigative Reporter, The Detective, and The Hippie leave the tent with one more artifact. _Poor Teala._ Matt keeps his arm around Jc, as if scared to let him go. Maybe the Hippie and Detective have a good chance after all. The duo walk through the town back through the lounge, and Jc feels a bit better. He doesn't know what will happen next, and even if he'll end up surviving this crazy town, but he does know that he has good friends to help along the way.   
_Even if those friends voted for you._

He's not sure if he'll tell Matt that he knew of the votes. He decides later would be a good time. Once everything's started to make more sense, and maybe even if they manage to get out alive. But for now, he just takes a breath of the warm summer air, glad that finally things are, at least for now, okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that one was quite a bit shorter. I still like how it turned out, though! Next up, Shane Dawson!


End file.
